Not since 2000 has Ole Miss had a returning
1,000 yard rusher and before that, the Rebels last returning 1,000 yard rusher
was Kayo Dottley in 1949.

The coming season gives Ole Miss its best
backfield depth-wise since the Rebels had Trumaine Turner, Goldie McClendon, and
Vashon Pearson in the backfield in their 10-game winning season in 2003.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis was the workhorse last
season, amassing exactly 1,000 yards and Bruce Hall returns as his backup while
Cordera Eason enters his true sophomore season expected to play a much bigger
role in the running game.

It's the same group from last year, so what's
changed?

Experience.

A year ago, Green-Ellis was touted by the staff
to be the best running back on the squad after transferring to Ole Miss from
Indiana following the 2004 season and playing on the scout team in 2005.
Hall was a former quarterback in junior college and hadn't played the position
despite short stops at Wake Forest and Troy. Eason was a highly regarded recruit
but had yet to prove he could play in the SEC.

Last season changed all of that with
Green-Ellis becoming only the third Rebel ever to run for 1,000 yards while Hall
played in all 12 games and rushed for 182 yards on 32 carries for almost a six
yard per carry average. That left many Rebel fans wondering why he wasn't
used more often. Eason only got seven carries for 16 yards, but got the
experience of being on the field as a true freshman, mainly on special teams.